Since taking office, Reeves has overseen stalling growth, spiralling borrowing, rising taxes and looming spending cuts.
Yet instead of owning up to her failures, she’s pointing the finger elsewhere.
The Tories left a mess, but Reeves inherited an economy showing signs of a recovery.
She instantly killed the upbeat mood by talking Britain down and warning of “difficult decisions” in her autumn Budget, then delivered £40billion in tax hikes.
The rise in National Insurance, kicking in next month, will cost firms billions, discouraging hiring and investment. Frozen income tax thresholds and higher stamp duty will squeeze households.
Today, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to halve its 2025 growth forecast from 2% to just 1%.
Yet instead of admitting her decisions have choked growth, Reeves insists outside forces are to blame.
And she’s found the perfect scapegoat.
US President Donald Trump is wreaking global economic havoc, with tariffs and erratic policymaking. And Reeves simply couldn’t resist pinning her failings on him.
She can’t name him outright – PM Keir Starmer is still pretending he’s Trump’s bestie – but she’s dropping hints.
Yesterday, she used phrases like “the world is changing” and pointed to “increases globally in the cost of government borrowing” for the UK’s woes.
These are dog whistles for Trump’s wayward policies.
She’s expected to double down today – again, not mentioning Trump. Although she’ll happily heap blame on Vladimir Putin as gas prices rise.
Trump’s second term is shaping up to be an economic catastrophe. His 25% import tariffs, due on April 2, will throw a might spanner into global trade.
Markets fear a trade war, inflation and recession.
So yes, Trump’s chaos will make things worse. But here’s the problem. The UK economy shrank by 0.1% in January – before markets had priced in his tariff threats.
Blaming Trump for Britain’s slump is a transparent distraction.
Today’s Spring Statement will confirm what we already know: Britain’s economic position is bad and deteriorating fast.
January’s figures show the government borrowed a thumping £118.2billion in the first 10 months of the financial year.
That was £12.8billion higher than the OBR predicted in October, wiping out her wafer thin £9.9billion “fiscal headroom”. Reeves can’t blame Trump for that.
Her Budget tax hikes have backfired, suffocating growth. Now, to balance the books, she’s expected to announce £15billion in spending cuts, causing uproar on Labour backbenches.
And the worst is yet to come. By this year’s autumn Budget, Trump’s policies will causing real damage. Inflation could be rising, the economy shrinking.
Reeves isn’t expected to hike taxes today. Come the autumn, she may have no choice.
She’ll no doubt blame Trump again. By then, she might have a point. But it won’t save her.
Some suspect Starmer is keeping her in place to take the fall for a grim year, then ditch her once the dust settles. That’s when Reeves will discover that two can play at scapegoating.
